Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Happy Birthday Justin!
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Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Frijoles de la olla ( Beans In Da Pot)
Ma.. bless her lil Mexican heart, ( God I miss her!) would not let us girls learn Spanish. We were to speak English only. ( No Italian either). Being the nosey lil stink that I
Now you all know how I feel about a few things in the kitchen right? one of them being what? Bacon starts! Do not skip this step, or I won't claim the recipe.
• 6 slices of finely diced bacon
•1 Onion, chopped
2 cloves mince garlic
•Dried beans, 15 bean bag PLUS 1 cup pinto ,rinsed and soaked overnight -- 3 cups total ( sometimes I will use only pinto. I only do that when I want to specifically make refried beans. For this soup, stick to the mix.
1 especially yummy honey baked ham bone! ( u can sub this out with pork neck bones, ham hocks, or NOTHING at all. Always fabulous, its just my personal favorite with honey baked bone, after a holiday.
• Sea Salt -- 1 to 2 teaspoons
Remove beans from soak and rinse and reserve in colander.
In a 5-7 quart pot, fry bacon and add onion and garlic and saute until translucent, over medium heat.
Stir in the soaked beans and enough fresh water to cover beans by about 1 inch or more. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 2 hours, or until the beans are cooked through and tender. Add water as needed to keep the beans covered. Remove bones if you used them, pick meat off and return to the pot. Ginger loves a good bone.
TIP: Hoping that my kids see this and will not scold me in my senior years for not telling them. Gramas secret ingredient, always in a hidden hand behind her apron, was a sprinkle of sugar. Altho when I use honey baked ham, I omit this due to the honey obviously. But Grama loved those secret ingredients.. so here ya go... I divulged!
TIP #2... We all know that beans are just better on day two right? Well to get that same effect on day one, because we are impatient.. ( I say we like I have a turd in my pocket) Afer beans are completed, remove a cup or more with juice into the blender of food processor. Puree and add back to the pot. Oh Mama if you only knew I have my own tricks!
TIP #3: If you can, get someone to clean up the horrid mess you just made on your pretty stove top! Gives more time to quilt. Or drink wine.
Posted by Gina 1 comments
Labels: Foodie Fridays
Clowns In My Coffee?
Well alrighty then! By all accounts I'm about to succeed big time! I am SO READY!
Morning:) Coffee is good but I cant believe I slept so late. I quilted til 3 am, thats why! Its was COOL then! I made a pot of Iced coffee, turned on the tunes and away we went. It doesnt feel so good this morning though...lol
Still pondering above quote. I cannot believe my failure track record in the past couple years. I fight my Sybils on a daily basis. The one who is broken, and the one who is a driving force to prevail. Ever hear that song from the 70's, Broken Lady, Gatlin Brothers? U tube it..lol Then... look up Chumbawamba - by Tubthumping. Lastly John Mayer, there ya have me... LOLOL Oh Lord wheres the refills???? I just love these artists wo happen to have JUST the right lyrics for your moods eh? For awhile now I've been wailng
P!NK's pissed off tunes! Ok, I cant yak this morning, I gotta move my butt...Its going to be another hot day!
Love the above cartoon! I always had CLOUDS in MY coffee... but....maybe its from that Lyrics show! LOL
Love yer guts!
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Monday, September 27, 2010
Go!
Its GO TIME AGAIN! HEADS UP! But this ones mine.. come onnnnnnnnn
Janes too!
Millie too!
Posted by Gina 1 comments
M & M's For Today
laptopping in bed when I suffer from insomnia
my shop
beach runs when I am overheated
Gingers protection
OMGoodness you wouldnt believe the HOT breeze at 9 AM!!
Posted by Gina 2 comments
Labels: Marvelous Mondays
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday Somethings
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Saturday, September 25, 2010
Working On Saturday, While I Can!
Isn't this great ponder food? I cant take credit for it, mind you. My cousin said it! LOL I nearly fell off the chair when I read it! I have been pondering an entire 24 hours now. All those Whats it all about Alfie, is such a croc O crap eh? WHO CARES what its all about anymore. Maybe the older I get the more I care about the WHILE I'm STILL here!
While I'm still here, I want to be devoted too. To the WHILE of it all.
I am listening to Frankie Valle and sippin a cuppa. Did you people see Jersey Boys? Fantastic show! I love their music. The sun aint gonna shine anymore... ::SIGH::
While I'm here I'd like to enter and take home a blue at a major quilt show with MY OWN quilt.
While I'm here I'd like a turkey neck job. OK, throw in boobs too.
While I'm here I'd like to make each day count. I mean really count. Too many have passed without a light.
I could go on and on.. HEY! This must be a bucket list eh?
CLIC
So the owner of the king came by. Squealed like a pig, then cried.. then I cried... then we shared some skin, hugging a lot. It makes it all worth it. Now I need to bring it on home and finish the beast! As soon as I wake up.
Posted by Gina 2 comments
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Courage To Change:::again:::
I figure....what the hell could kill my spirit now? Not a damn thing, because I've been better, but I've been worse! :::looking for her big girl panties::: Changes are just inevitable for some I guess, and that means Moi`. I have cornered the market on "change". Change of life, check. Change of residence, check x.... I forget how many now. Change of mind? Check. Change of associations? Check. Change of careers? Check. Change of haircolor. Check. I gotta tell ya, I am afraid to say that I will NEVER like eggplant or lima beans... because I have learned never to say never! As soon as ya do.... BLAMO. Why cant I just be normal and change my tastes in lingerie? Change my hairstyle and get myself a new bitch cut or somethin? DAMN.
So I'm working on more changes. Dont worry, I wont be pulling another Lucy and opening a Bed & Breakfast again. Althooooo... no nevermind. I will keep you posted, and hopefully chat mindlessly while I keep you all in the dark awhile longer. I have a bunch of work to do just trying to locate my MUCHNESS. Could be that I am just feeling a tad bit stronger since the whole tumor thing is behind me:) Life is promised to no one, therefore to live in fear, sad, confused or angry, is a terrible waste of love to give.
In the meantime, send me good thoughts and a tickle smile, we'll be fine. I'm off to group and then the owner of this king beast is actually coming to visit her quilt! New one on me there too!!! I hope she doesnt plan on standing over my shoulder.::::wheres the wine?::::
I am so fortunate to be a quilter... I love my art, don't you? I hope THAT never changes. :::slight panic attack feeling going through:::
LYG!
<-----limited knowledge and insufficient evidence. Yep.....thats how I roll.
Posted by Gina 2 comments
Thursday, September 23, 2010
A Happy Birthday Gift For Blima
I KNOW you are smiling all day, in between puppy pee pee walks!
Dear Blogreaders....meet Jackson.
A black standard 12 week old new baby of Blima's. He arrived just in time to help her celbrate her 50'th birthday! ( again)
I am certain they both have much love to give one another, and I cant wait to meet him!!
Congratulations Blima , Love ya bunches!
Posted by Gina 0 comments
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
PHONE RANG BEFORE 8???
Posted by Gina 16 comments
Grama Stash Update
How is THIS for a sock it to me kinda quilt? I'm making chinese coins from gramas stash here. It WOKE ME UP this morning, for sure! On the table below you can see that I'm closing in on the beast eh? I am hoping to bring it home this week. As you can also see, with all this work and deshevled life, the shop is suffering. GOT A MAID? I actually sweep it everyday, but you wouldnt know it unless you looked for the thread bunches in the garbage:) I have a great deal of work to do, and I just have such a difficult time of it. I can say that about everything, but why bother... PUSHER :::push her::: is my middle name. Have a great day dear blog readers, and I will too:)
LYG
Posted by Gina 4 comments
Labels: Quilt Speak
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Did You See The Latest Link?
A giveaway!
http://thelastpiece.typepad.com/the_last_piece/
A lovely find I say!
Posted by Gina 0 comments
Friday, September 17, 2010
Not A Foodie Friday
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Thursday, September 16, 2010
Happy Birthday Jake!
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Wednesday, September 15, 2010
MRI SET
I have the huge list today, and GROUP, and visitors, I should have burnt the midnight oil on the beast quilt. Now that I'm waking up I feel the anxiety returning. CHIT. I'll come back for more chat if I can.
Have a great humpday:)
LYG
Posted by Gina 4 comments
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
A Sweet New Year, A Week Late.
First, It Seams To Be Sew is hosting a giveaway! Go see!
Today I am making this dish which we all love and comes from my BFF Blima's Bubbie ( go ahead, 3 times fast). Typically its made for Jewish New Year, except here, its made whenever I have a sweet/savory tooth. ( shock, daily) No really, I make it at least 3 or 4 imes a year. Especially when I find English short ribs on sale and very "meaty". Give it a try, you will here massive humming at the dinner table!
Tzimmes
2 lbs short ribs ( or more)
1/2 cup water
2 lb carrots, peeled & sliced
2 sweet potatoes, quartered,
2 whole onions
1 cup honey or brown sugar (more if desired) I use ½ cup br. sugar, 1/2 cup honey. (cant make up my mind?) To clarify: I mix 1/2 cup honey and 1/2 cup brn sugar together, then pour over mixture before roasting.
3/4 lb prunes (about a cup) make sure no pits
Juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste (lots of fresh black pepper)
Sprinkle short ribs with salt and pepper, in a fry pan with 2 tablespoons hot oil, sear on all sides, remove and place in roasting pan with all other ingredients.
Cover and cook for 2 hours at 350. Uncover, stir and let brown about 1 hour more.
If the sauce hasn’t thickened enough add 2 tablespoons of flour to ¼ cup of cold water, stir until smooth, add to tzimmes, mix well and bake for a few minutes more.
*Noteworthy TIP:
When I SEAR the ribs, I drench them in flour first.( like your pot roast) This makes the last step unnessesary. I just didnt want to change Bubbie's recipe written.
Posted by Gina 4 comments
Labels: Foodie Fridays
Monday, September 13, 2010
Are Monday's Really Marvelous?
You KNEW that was coming didnt you? I cant fool the dearblog readers:)
Afternoon:) It dawned on me that I hadnt done my M & M's yet today. I am nose in fabric since EARLY this morning.I cant believe that its already 3:00 PM . I get a lil break here, then 2 more hours, then dinner preps. I am in hopes to come back in the shop after dinner. HOPE HOPE HOPE. I am really wanting to be done with this one. Actually its a good brain rest since stressing about doctor calls isnt doing me much good. Quilting IS. I would also love to spend an hour to go and see what all you bloggers are writing about! I need a time out eh? I agree. There is so much crap going on in my own world that I havent a clue about yours! I think maybe tonight, ( after Lost, season 5 finale) I will surf. For now, back to it.. I wish very much that I could stay and chat... really chat. GRUNT.
LYG! G
M & M's include:
The tension in my Gammil playing nice with specialty threads
My Mama's Nails
Rudy not biting visitors when he goes on walkabout
Gloria from my group, stopping in.
creamy creamless butternut squash soup!
My temp bridge still in there!
Did I mention good tension?
Posted by Gina 1 comments
Labels: Marvelous Mondays
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Love Of Self
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Saturday, September 11, 2010
Chunking On 9.11.
Forget this day in history? NOPE. September is such a memory month for me. So many birthdays, anniversaries, road trips.... Wow, just think of the log I'll have when I'm 70!
Posted by Gina 1 comments
Happy Hatchday Sir Rudy!!
Posted by Gina 3 comments
Friday, September 10, 2010
Report on "D" Day
My Eye report was good. no increase.. :::phew::::
My Biopsy was a complete torment. Forget the compression they had me under, lets discuss the freaking NEEDLE going all directions and not finding the SWEET SPOT!!! Oh yeh!!! Lateral THERE, diagonal NOT. Consequently they could not get a decent sample because they needed to go in diagonally. I'm not happy. Just when I could not cry anymore tears of a low threshold for pain they tell me I need to return and repeat, AFTER I have an MRI of said Right Boobie. How can I have a lump from the up/down, and not from the side?Is it a pancake?
I was upset. I will NEVER do that alone again. I should have had support on board. BIG mistake. I had no support. I texted my daughter, and my Bff. In between squeezes and sticks. I was REALLY a mess. You dont really want to hear all the dirty little things I'm saying right about now. CLIC
My shrink appt was next. Oh Lord this woman is a force to be reckoned with. I got more homework! She went on and on, and I wanted to say Hello? I just had a failed Biopsy? She wouldnt have cared. Whatever... Not sure I like this at all. Sometime I think there is just no place for me to be now. I need a hero. ( sorry, song just ran across my mind)
I will be turning in early as I feel like I weigh three times my REAL weight. Imma think about TGIF and make it a better day:) :::my thumbs are pointed up::::
LYG,
G
Posted by Gina 6 comments
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Happy Birthday Sweet Baby James
James most favorite artist was The Dave Matthews Band. Funnily enough, this song was written in 2008. I dunno...
Its bittersweet. Painfully comforting. I miss your calls, your emails, IM's.. I miss your laugh, I miss your eyes. I want your hugs and need you to come home and tease me. I miss you Munz, Happy 29th Birthday!
Anyone else have trouble remembering ages of their kids? I sure do.. and Grands? OMG! I still think Karen is 30!
I have DMB Blasting all day, hope you're listening Munz!
PS: I have enabled comment moderation to kick out the bad apple posts.. no worries, I will be able to post immedietly from my blackberry, so stay with me!
Posted by Gina 4 comments
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Lets Break A Bad Habit, Shall We?
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Monday, September 6, 2010
M & M Laboring On Labor Day.
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Labels: Marvelous Mondays
Friday, September 3, 2010
The Absense Of Worry
Ma always said that worry is a sin. To worry is to not trust in your Father. Hmmmm
I find that worry is good on a small scale. To worry/ponder a bit, and go on to believe. However, when worry begins to fill up, spill over and flood down the street the above does not apply. Not for me anyway. I find that when THAT point hits I become frozen and can no longer function well. That could be why I am hooked on EVERY season of LOST these days. Too much of my own drama caused me to want to care about someone elses instead. I dont have my head buried in the sand mind you, I have many"what if" solutions spinning around. Its just a nice resting spot to watch LOST issues instead. I cried last evening when Charlie died. Know what? It felt good to cry over something so insignificant to my own life. Yep, Afterall, I have cornered the market on tears in the last 2 years right? Well, I do share that corner with my BFF Ronda. But poor Charlie!!!!!He reminded me so much of Jamie... sweet, funny, caring, and goofy. I was attached to him...lol I don't know how many of you peoples have even watched LOST so I maybe shouldn't even discuss it. Anyway, after the tears stopped, season 3 ended, I went to bed and the worry resumed. MY OWN WORRY. Then Mom's words made me guilty. GRUNT. This worry crap is way to consuming.. no wonder I feel sick and tired!! Makes me mad. ( like that's hard to do eh?)
I don't have to worry about Karen's job hunt any longer. My prayers of course went unanswered again as she has been scooped up by a huge health care company in the Bay area. Not here. GRUNT. My non worry there was quickly diverted to WHAT ABOUT AVI??? Maybe I have NO ABSENSE of worry. No wonder I cannot function properly.
Pictured above are my worry stones. I do not know of their origin, history, meaning....I just like rocks? I keep them on a silver tray in the hallway. I used to keep them in a vase on my nightstand, but it seemed to cause brain racing. Now I just pick ONE and ponder. (sometimes). I suppose I am no different than others with silly quirks like my prayer parrot post its. Ain't easy being me member? OR: Everyones got their own schtick?
I had a nice lunch out yesterday with a member of my stitching group. I think Mom sent her. She said things during our 2 hour visit that only Mom would know. Maybe when I cry for Mom, Mom sent Gloria. Gloria wants to adopt me. I'm a little confuddled...
Oh Lord the minds a terrible thing to waste... I'm gonna go boil some eggs and stick in a Tony Robbins audio... I'll do the one on relationships and see if I can relate!
Don't worry about me, Mom doesn't like it.
Did you know that whatever we FOCUS on we move toward? ahuh, pay attention, it happens!
Posted by Gina 5 comments
Labels: Tell All Tuesdays
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Better Days May Be Coming
I have honestly spent too much time blogging 4 blogabouts and backspacing them all.I even blogged my BFF and told her I couldnt blog! What ya make of that? I began with the new quilt... then changed to the new grama stash I need to cut up.. that didnt work so I began chat about my Jerry springer family drama. CLIC on that one.... I decided that the only thing heavy on my mind is me. I am a pissed off person now. It doesnt matter how hard I try, I am. Its all inside I think. It feels like an evil to express it all. So I avoid it.
I went to see the new shrink yesterday. I didnt have any high hopes at all since my last 2 attempts failed miserably with one prozac happy doctor and the other wanting me to do breathing excercises with her. But I KNOW that I need help that I do not posess at this time. Lets call it waning strength for now.
As I entered her private eye kind of office, ( picture Colombo) I thought "oh wow, what have I done?" She greeted me with a hearty handshake, direct eye contact and asked WHY I was there. I promptly told her that I need help. With only one hour of a history lesson she summed it all up with "I think we can work well together. I believe in direct action, do you want to come back?"
Alllrighty then I thought. I agreed to begin the journey with miss toughy pantz. She gave me homework! Homework? (hey its not touching my toes and breathing heavily so Ill try it). I am already on the third of my assignments and its getting tougher. Mostly because my homelife is not great. ( what an understatement). I dont know how much I can share here, or will... but I will try. I always say that which is no longer inside of me, can no longer hurt me. So we shall see. Funnily enough, we will meet again after the BIOPSY sept 9.... I have a very full schedule that day. Not on purpose, but it happened that way.
Now.... thanks for the nooner... I better get busy:)
LYG
Posted by Gina 5 comments